Watering Plants
by AgnesPaige
Summary: Lance is just trying to get through his first year of college when he meets a brilliant brunette who can pack a punch. A Voltron college AU no one asked for but I'm going to deliver. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

Watering Plants

Hello, everyone! This is my first fanfic, so go easy on me. I don't officially ship anyone in VLD, but I know someone who ships Plance and the more I thought about it the more adorable I found it.

So, this is the Voltron college AU nobody asked for.

Except for me. I asked for this.

Enjoy!

Lance was dealing with a personal crisis. Ok, that may have been dramatic, even for him.

It all started with a knock on his door. Once. Twice. He woke up just long enough to piece together in his still-foggy mind that today was his first day of college classes.

He started to unravel himself from his blankets when the cold air hit him.

He burrowed further into his warm blanket and glared at the door.

 _Maybe if I'm really quiet, he'll just go away..._

The pounding at the door grew louder and he could hear his roommate, Hunk, behind the door.

"Lance, please! I forgot my key again!"

.

Lance groaned. Still wrapped in his comforter, he rolled out of bed, shoved his feet into his blue lion slippers (a Christmas gift from his sister, Veronica) and walked in an uncoordinated fashion to the front of his dorm room.

"Thank God! I thought you'd still be asleep", Hunk said as he barreled past Lance and into the shared space that was to be their home for the next two semesters.

"Mhmm, that's real interesting…" Lance turned, eyeing his bed, but Hunk was too fast for him.

"Nope, can't let you do that. I told you yesterday I wouldn't let you go back to bed today"

"But!"

"Have you learned nothing from yesterday? You'll sleep through breakfast again"

Lance stared, his brain like an engine struggling to turn over.

"But...it's early" he said with a pout.

"It's not that early. It's only seven"

Lance rolled his eyes "How are you even functioning?"

"Coffee" Hunk gestured to his thermos

"Coffeeeeee" Lance repeated, as if in a trance, and lunged for the thermos only to have a massive hand press against his face holding him back.

"No. No, no. I woke up and walked to the cafeteria for this. You've gotta get your own."

"Fine." Lance said and started to get dressed.

He was out the door in under ten minutes. He told himself it was because he was a responsible adult, but if he was being honest, he did it for the coffee.

The smell of bacon and eggs wafted through the air. He smiled as he make his way over to the buffet. As he got to the end of the line, he noticed a group of girls looking at him.

"Hello, ladies" he said with a devilish smirk.

They laughed, but it wasn't in the flirty way he was hoping for. It kind of sounded like they were laughing at him...

It was at that point he looked down and saw his blue lion slippers staring up at him. He'd been in such a hurry to get out the door that he had grabbed the wrong shoes.

"Ah, man" he said rolling his eyes and ducking his head as if to hide himself. _Maybe I can just take it back to my room._ He was about to get a cup of coffee when he heard someone.

"Nice slippers"

He turned, expecting to see one of the girls from earlier. Instead...He doesn't see anyone.

Where did they go?

"Down here!" The voice said, clearly annoyed.

He looked down to see a grumpy brunette with large brown eyes behind even larger glasses glaring up at him. She was holding an empty cup.

"Uh...why are you so short?" Was the only thing Lance could think to say.

The tiny human froze for a moment then stomped on his blue slippers with such force that his eyes watered.

"Now get out of my way. You're blocking the coffee."

That was the first time he had ever encountered Katie Holt, and it would not be the last.

 _Author's Note: If you guys were wondering, I posted this story earlier but accidentally posted an unedited version. I'm still figuring out the site, as I'm still pretty new to it, so I just took it down and put up the edited one. Also, I know this chapter was pretty short. The next few chapters will be a bit longer._

 _Hope you all are enjoying it so far and I will post more soon :)_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lance had eaten his breakfast, stopped by his dorm for different shoes (with two more people commenting on his slippers on his way there), and walked quickly toward Gunderson Hall, where his first class would be.

He winced in pain (not for the first time) as he walked. Why, you may ask? Because of that tiny person. The person who crushed three of his toes this morning. The tiny person who squished one of his beloved blue lion slippers.

This person had been on his mind most of the morning. He couldn't stop thinking about the exchange. At first he was annoyed, but slowly he just became disappointed. _How did I manage to make an enemy on the first day?_

"Lance, what did you manage to do in the forty-five minutes since I saw you? Why are you walking like that?"

Lance looked up to see Hunk at his side.

"Hey. Yeah, so, funny story. I ran out the door this morning in my lion slippers and-"

Hunk was already nodding, "Yeah, I know."

"Wait. What do you mean _you know?"_

" I started to say something this morning but you left so fast I didn't get a chance to. I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later. So, you were saying? Did your blue lions offend someone?"

"Hey, Blue couldn't offend anyone if she tried!"

"Blue? Did you name your slippers?" Hunk gave him look.

"Yeah..?" He answered as if it was the most normal thing in the world and Hunk was the one who was clearly crazy. "So anyway, this kid came up to me and just stomped on my foot just to get by me for some coffee!"

"Really, that's all?"

"Well…" Lance trailed off, " I may have noted that said person was kind of on the small side…"

"Like in your head?"

Lance gave a sheepish look and a little laugh.

"Oh, Lance. We need to work on your filter, buddy."

"Well he-or she- or whatever they didn't have to crush my foot. I mean, I know people can be grumpy in the morning but-"

Hunk stopped walking for a second. "Wait, what do you mean? Lance, does this person have short brown hair and glasses- oh, never mind," he said when he realized Lance was still talking.

"-my foot has never known such trauma and it's all because shorty had a temper. I didn't do anything wrong!" He said, crossing his arms like a child.

Hunk looked as if he wanted to say more, but thought better of it. "Well, this is me," he said as he walked toward a small white building. "See you later. And Lance? Make good choices."

Hunk paused just past the entryway and looked at his text messages from that morning.

 **Pidge: I've been on this campus for two days and**

 **I've already gotten the short comment.**

 **:(**

"Oh, Lance. You're going to have a hard time with this one…" He muttered to himself as he walked to his class.

Lance approached a building that said Gunderson over the door. He made his way up the stairs to the second floor and walked into the room that said **201** on the door only to find a very familiar face. It was the same person from that morning. The one he had just talked to Hunk about a minute earlier.

He thought about what Hunk had said to him and slowly moved toward the desk. Those eyes were suddenly on him again. When he got past the obvious anger they held, he noticed they weren't what he remembered. They were a rich brown with subtle hues of gold in them. He couldn't explain why, but they were feminine, he might even say pretty. With this, he realized she was clearly a girl. He couldn't help but stare for a minute longer. He stared longer than was necessary, and long enough for him to notice her squirm under his gaze.

"Can I help you?" Her speech was clipped, clearly irritated.

"Umm, so…" Lance started.

"...Yeah?"

 _Why am I so nervous. Wait, why did I come up to her. There are so many people around. Maybe I could do this later? Crap, she's waiting for me to say something._ _ **Say SOMETHING!**_

"...so, you're a girl?"

 _ **Not. THAT.**_

"Ok, everyone take their seats!" The professor said. Lance ran to an empty seat in the back of the class, far away from her. _What is wrong with me!? I'm Lance! Lancey Lance. The man who can think of a pick up line faster than anyone else I know. The guy who always has something to say to a girl._

Lance slouched but tried his best to pay attention. The class went by quickly. Because the first week of classes was known as drop/add, the instructor didn't cover too much content at first. When it was almost over, he asked if there were any questions. The brunette raised her hand.

"Yes! Miss..?"

"It's just Pidge. I was wondering if we would be covering…"

He didn't even follow what exactly she said. He could hear the words, but he didn't piece them together. He just listened to the way she formed those words. She never hesitated or stumbled over them like most people their age would. The way she spoke with such confidence surprised him. She was probably his age (although she looked younger), but she spoke with the knowledge of a woman at least twice her age.

Right in the middle of his thought, he noticed she was standing and walking toward the door. He noticed some of the seats around him that had been previously occupied were now empty. Class had been dismissed.

He stood quickly and started to follow her. He followed her down the hall, down the stairs and out the door. Lance didn't have another class scheduled until noon, but he still found himself following her into a brick building, all the while staying a good distance behind her. He walked down the hall behind her and took left after she did and…

 _Where did she go?_

He felt someone tap him on the shoulder. He turned, and there stood Pidge with a hand on her hip and an irritated expression on her face.

"Why are you following me?"


	3. Chapter 3

So sorry this took me a couple days to get up. I looked back at chapters I've posted and realized I wanted the chapters to be a bit longer.

Also, thank you to the people who have reviewed and followed/favorited my story! It really made my day to see that :3

Now, onto the next chapter!

Chapter 3

Lance froze. _She knows! This was such a bad idea. Wait, wait, calm down. Play it cool. It's your first day here. You could just say you were lost._

So, that's exactly what he did.

"Uh, what are you talking about?" He said smoothly, "I just got turned around. Now if you don't mind…" He started to move around her.

She watched with a knowing smile as he walked, acting like he knew exactly where he was going. He pulled on the first door handle he saw, tossed an arrogant "See?" over his shoulder and stepped inside. Lance was proud of himself until he saw the buckets and mops that still smelled of Pine-sol.

He had just walked into a supply closet.

He backed out, silently praying she hadn't seen him, but when he turned around he almost tripped on her. She was standing right there with a smug look on her face.

"Uh, I meant this one." He walked through the next door and found himself in a room covered wall to wall in pictures of planets and stars.

"So I guess we're in the same class?" she said, suddenly right next to him.

"Uh, yeah. I mean of course! I love me some astrology..."

"Astronomy?" Pidge gave him a look that said she still wasn't buying it.

"Yeah, that's what I said!" He said it a little faster than he meant to, but before he could say anything else, Lance found a finger pointing at him about two inches from his face. Said finger belonged to a tall, thin man with an auburn-colored handlebar mustache.

"You two! Alright, that should be everyone." He handed Pidge a piece of paper with tape on the back that had the number five written on it. "Please stick that to your table so everyone knows who you are."

Pidge and Lance looked at the paper then back at the man, clearly confused.

"You're going to be partners in this class. Now go find your table and get comfortable. You'll be with each other for the rest of the semester!"

They slowly made their way to the last empty table in the room. Lance was so overwhelmed by the whole ordeal that he hadn't noticed Hunk as he walked by. Hunk looked up, surprised to see him there and even more so to see him with Pidge. He gave Pidge a questioning look, to which Pidge shrugged her shoulders and gave a look which said _Hey, don't look at me. I actually belong in this class._

When they sat down, Pidge turned to him and whispered, "Ok, look. I'm sorry I called you out for following me, but you and I both know you're not actually in this class. Just say something to him at the end of class."

"I don't know what you're talking about." He had taken the paper from her and was doing as he was told, placing the paper neatly on the table. "And what do you mean by that? Do you think I'm going to make you fail or something?"

"Maybe not fail, but having you as a partner definitely won't help! Are you even majoring in a science field?"

"Maybe I am! What are you basing this on anyway?" Lance countered.

" Well, maybe because you called the class astrology. Besides you don't exactly look like the type to be into this."

"What type am I?"

"I don't know. Maybe the stereotypical pretty-boy flirty type? I saw you flirting with those girls this morning. Or at least _trying_ to."

Lance scoffed. "Thanks." He leaned back in his chair and looked away, clearly pouting.

She had plenty of things she wanted to say to him. In fact, after the incident in the cafeteria, Pidge had spent the first half of breakfast thinking up clever responses for if he ever bothered her again. She started to say something about needing a _real_ class partner, but then she looked at him.

He looked completely dejected.

Pidge thought back to earlier when they were in the hallway. It had not gone completely unnoticed that he was limping. It was definitely subtle, but she still noticed. She felt guilt wash over her. "Ok, ok. You're right. I'm sorry. Let's just start over. So, what _is_ your major?"

He gave her a sheepish grin. "Ok, technically undecided, so I guess you got me there."

Pidge tried to keep a neutral expression on her face as she thought. _I knew he wasn't in a science field_! "...but you're interested in science?" She gave a hopeful look, holding her breath for his answer.

"Eh, not really." he replied looking bored.

"Then why are you-!?"

"Shh! Class is starting." He said as he got out a binder. He started to write on the spine: **ASTROLOG- "** Whoops" he crossed out the last part and continued.

Pidge threw back her head and groaned.

"What was that, Number 5?" The professor asked.

"Nothing, sir" She said, her head still thrown back.

 _This was going to be a long semester._

Hunk and Lance were back in their dorm room. Lance was sprawled out on his bed using his laptop, while Hunk was sitting at his desk flipping through a textbook. Hunk leaned back to look at Lance. "So. You want to tell me what you were doing in O'Sullivan's class today?"

"What do you mean? It's drop/add week. Maybe I just added it." Lance said without looking up.

"Sorry, it's just that you never really liked science stuff in high school. Are you ok? You seem upset."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Again he refused to look up.

"What are you looking at?" Hunk said as he walked over to Lance. Lance had an online version of the astronomy textbook opened on his screen. Hunk noticed that in a tab he had his calculus book opened as well.

Hunk let out a huge, dramatic gasp, "Lance! Are you studying Astronomy? And MATH!? You hate math! What has Pidge done to you!?"

This got Lance's attention. "What? No. Nothing!" Then he caught up with all Hunk had just said. "Wait, how do you know Pidge?"

"We actually met this summer during orientation. She's great! Well, if you don't piss her off."

"I wouldn't say ' _Great'._ More like cocky, obnoxious…" he muttered a few more words under his breath, although Hunk couldn't quite catch them.

"Jeez, what happened with you two?"

Lance then proceeded to tell Hunk every detail, pausing only when Hunk guffawed at the part with the supply closet.

"Lance, why didn't you just apologize?"

"I tried! That's why I followed her after calculus! But then she looked up at me with her stupid smirk and then her stupid eyes messed me up-"

"Wait. Her eyes? What was that about her eyes?"

Lance started to blush a little. He hadn't meant to say that part out loud. "Nothing."

"Oh my gosh. Lance! Were you looking deeply into Pidge's eyes!? Like some sappy romance novel!?" He started laughing. "Are into her or something-"

"No! Nonono! I never said that! I just meant that...that...her glasses are way too big for her face!" Lance was proud that he was able to come up with that so quickly, but he didn't realize at that time that Hunk's questions would bother him until the early hours of the following morning.

 _"_ Mhmm. Whatever you say." Hunk crossed his arms and leaned up against the bed. "And you're totally not studying all this stuff to impress her or anything…"

"You're absolutely right. I'm studying to prove her wrong!"

"Ok, but what about at the end of the semester when you have all these math and science courses? You're not planning on getting a degree in any of these, right? So, what's the point?"

"Who says I'm not? There are plenty of jobs out there for people with degrees in math or science. I could even get a masters degree or teach or something."

Hunk unfolded his arms, a concerned look spread over his features. "This doesn't sound like you, Lance. Where is all this coming from?"

Lance looked up at him. "It's time for me to grow up. I have to accept that when I graduate I'm going to need a job. This is the best thing I can do for myself." Lance knew that it was his own voice forcing these words out of his mouth, but they were his dad's words. They were words that had been repeated enough times that they began to flow out easily.

Hunk tried to smile, but struggled. He was still concerned about his friend's change in attitude. "Ok, buddy. If that's really what you want." He felt uncomfortable. He wanted to push the topic more, but figured Lance might just need space. He headed for the door. "Well, I'm going to go over to the cafeteria before it closes. You want anything?"

"Nah, I'm fine." Lance turned back to his computer, staring at it like it was going to reveal the meaning of life to him.

Once Hunk closed the door behind him, Lance looked up at a picture he had by his bed. The picture had his whole family smiling. It wasn't some posed, professional setting. The looks on their faces were all natural, unfiltered. It made him feel warm, but somehow anxious at the same time.

"I'll make you proud, guys." He said out loud before turning back to his screen with a renewed intensity. He said this while completely ignoring the black, beat up guitar case in the corner. The case that held a guitar that had been well loved up until move-in day. The day when Lance placed it there and left it with every intention to completely neglect it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Pidge, pssst! Hey, Pidge!" Lance stage whispered.

"No." She replied without looking up from her book.

"Pidge, seriously! It's about the assignment."

She sighed and looked at him.

"I was reading this part about antigravity…"

"...yeah?" She started to look at him.

Then he gave her a cheeky grin, "and it was impossible to put down."

Pidge groaned and went back to her book.

Pidge, Lance and Hunk were eating breakfast and reviewing for a quiz. Since arriving thirty minutes earlier, Lance had cracked at least 10 of those horrible Astronomy jokes.

"Oh, good one Lance!" Hunk said laughing. "I'm going back for more food. Do you guys need anything?"

"I don't!" Lance said cheerfully.

Pidge simply grunted, her head still in her book, which Hunk took as a "no".

Hunk laughed as he walked away. They had been like this ever since classes started two weeks ago. Although Pidge hated the dorky jokes and puns made on Lance's side, she couldn't deny they made a pretty good team. During classes, they were usually the first to answer questions prompted by Dr. Sullivan. They had even aced the pop quiz they'd had the week before.

"So…"

"Lance, no. No more bad jokes. Let's just go over these questions." She said this as if she was scolding a child.

Lance looked shocked, " _Bad jokes!?_ My jokes are hilarious! Just ask Hunk."

"Hunk will laugh at anything."

"Anyway, I was going to ask you a serious question."

This got Pidge's attention. While their relationship had improved since the first day, they had never really gotten to know each other.

"Why do you go by Pidge? Is that your real name?"

Pidge sat up. "No, it's a nickname my family gave me and it just kind of stuck."

"What's your real name?"

"Katie. Katie Holt."

"And you prefer Pidge?"

She shrugged, "I don't know. I never really thought about it. I guess either is fine." She thought about it for a few seconds. "I guess I do sometimes miss being called Katie."

She had no idea why she was opening up to him. She looked at him, half expecting him to make a joke, but what she saw surprised her. He looked calm, focused. As if no one else existed. She had his full attention. She noticed for the first time he had faint freckles on his cheeks.

It was at that moment Hunk came back. She tore her eyes away and started to look at her textbook again.

"Hey, I just heard about some concert the music students are putting on tonight. It's like some welcome back thing." Hunk said as he sat with his full tray.

"Eh, I'll pass." Lance said.

"Lance, who are you these days!? You study all the time and you haven't pulled out your guitar since summer." He pointed a thumb at Lance as he looked at Pidge. "This guy is an amazing musician. He even thought about majoring in it."

This intrigued Pidge. She waited for his answer.

"I guess I'm just not that into it anymore." He stood. "I'd better get going. Don't want to be late for class."

"But you have plenty of time." Hunk called after him. "It doesn't start for another thirty minutes!" But Lance was already too far away from him.

When Pidge got to their first shared class, Calculus I, she walked right up to Lance's seat before she even put her own bag down. He had moved to sit in the front row next to her a couple days into the year. Originally she had given him an annoyed look and said something sarcastic. Now she felt weird when he wasn't around in her other classes.

"Looks like you weren't late." She said with a smirk.

"Yeah, well, punctuality is important, Pidge." Lance said, clearly teasing her. Before she could ask about his behavior from earlier, he quickly gave her a few more corny jokes. She wanted to ask about it, but could tell he didn't want to talk about it.

Pidge tried to focus on the equations on the board, but her eyes found their way to Lance. He looked focused, but there was a sadness in her eyes. She looked away. _Do your work. He's a grown man. He's fine._

But she kept looking at him. She noticed bags under his eyes that had never been there. She recalled Hunk saying that Lance often stayed up studying not only assigned material, but also basic concepts he had missed in high school.

At one point Dr. Iverson had noticed her distracted state and asked her a question, hoping to embarrass her.

"Miss Holt, perhaps you could be so kind as to tell us what the derivative of 2x is?"

She answered without looking away, completely unfazed. "It's 2."

As class was ending however, he called her out. "Is there something fascinating about Mr. Alvarez's face today, Miss Holt?"

She felt heat rise to her cheeks and spread to the tips of her ears. She didn't know what to say.

"Well, I have been trying out a new skin care routine. It's not easy looking this pretty." Lance said with a wink. The class laughed

Clearly Iverson had not gotten his desired response. "Class dismissed." He said and turned to erase equations from the board without looking back at them.

Pidge was tense the whole way to Astronomy. She couldn't even look at Lance. _Why hasn't he asked about the staring comment? Does he feel uncomfortable? Maybe he thought Iverson had made a mistake…_

"So, I have a proposition…" he said when they walked into the building.

She jumped, his voice pulling her from her thoughts, and then tried to look calm. "Oh, yeah? Let's hear it." She tried to sound bored. At this point they had reached their next class and tossed their bags under their shared table.

"I bet I can make a higher grade on the astronomy quiz than you." He crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair, a smug look on his face.

If this had been two weeks ago, back when she had first met him, she would have laughed in his face, but he had changed since then. Lance went from confusing the words astrology and astronomy on a regular basis to being one of the best students in the class.

She raised an eyebrow. "What do I get if I win?"

He shrugged, "Not gonna happen, but I'll let you dream. What do you want?"

"How about you stop making those terrible jokes."

Lance made a shocked face. "I already told you those jokes are gold! Fine, have it your way. If you win, I'll stop."

She smiled, but inside she felt a little disappointed. She hadn't actually wanted that. She wanted to know about his history with the guitar and the sudden change in majors. She didn't feel like she could say that though, especially after being called out by Iverson a few minutes ago. She didn't want to push him.

"And if you win?" _Please don't ask about Iverson. Please. Please. PLEASE._

"Let me call you Katie."

Pidge froze. "What? Wh-"

"Miss Holt!" Professor O' Sullivan shouted. "The quizzes are out! No talking." Pidge looked down. The quiz was right in front of her on her desk. She looked at Lance who brought his pointer finger to his lips and shushed her in a very theatrical way. "Such a distraction." He whispered, tuting before turning to his quiz.

Pidge scowled, but she wanted to laugh. She had really grown to like his humor. She didn't know what came over her, but she found herself whispering, "You could have anything, and _that's_ what you decide you want?" She was so curious about his request.

"Yeah? So?" He whispered back. He had caught Dr. O'Sullivan's eye and quickly looked down.

"You two! Don't make me say it again."

They both looked down, embarrassed to be called out again.

They quickly finished the quiz and turned them over on their table. Without looking up, Pidge asked as quietly as possible, "Why?"

Lance shrugged. "You said you missed it."

"But why is that what you want?" She couldn't help it. She looked in his direction.

Feeling her eyes on him, he turned. That had been his big mistake. Just like the first day, he couldn't look away. Those golden brown orbs pulled him in. He didn't know what made him say the next words that left his mouth. He thought them and without filtering them or thinking them through, he just let them fall from his lips.

"I want to be the one to give you what you want."

Pidge couldn't breathe. She made herself look away. She almost felt sick. She tried to say it was the quiz making her nervous, but she knew that wasn't the case. It had been a simple ten question quiz that she was sure she had aced.

She tried to put a label on the emotion she was feeling, but couldn't. She tried to be angry. _What the heck does that even mean?!_ It didn't last. She spent the rest of the class staring straight ahead. She was looking at the board without seeing it. She didn't see Dr. O'Sullivan give them a dirty look when they had spoken a third time a moment earlier. She didn't see Hunk looking at them, a look on his face that begged them to shut up. Most importantly, she didn't see the look on Lance's face when his own words finally registered in his mind, or how uncomfortable he was the rest of class.


End file.
